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This pin points one of the nice thing of using a Swing Speed Radar to measure my speed. I can make a relaxed swing and see on the screen how my speed goes up, compared to a swing where I try to swing harder. I'm sure we have all "heard" that a smooth relaxed swing gives the best results. But being able to "SEE IT" on the readout, sure drives it home in the old brain cells.

I was getting my driver re-shafted last night and this very topic came up between myself and the clubfitter. I was getting a 46 inch Purple Ice X-Stiff 85 gram shaft put in my driver to replace the MAS 2 stock shaft (which I hated from day one). He was asking me questions about the grip I'd like to use and then said "So, 45 inches right?". I asked him to leave it at the standard 46 because I am over 6'1'' and I'd like a little more weight at impact. He consulted with another clubfitter at the store and who agreed that going with 46 inches wouldn't effect me in any real way other than a little more distance from time to time. Preaching the 45 inch rule without considering the height of the player seemed a litter counter intuitive to me, but it seems to be some outdated rule of thumb or something.

I hit a few with a TM Burner stock 46 inch shaft and loved the results. I was more accurate and consistently longer the entire trial.

Being over 6'1" doesn't mean you need a 46" driver, You may be taller than average, but that doesn't mean you need a longer than average shaft. Most taller men, tend to have longer arms to match, so the distance from hand to ground is about the same as for the average man, Same for shorter men with shorter arms. It tends to "Average" out in the end. Also, 46" drivers are getting quite common, but the standard is still 45". MIght reach 46 pretty soon with the way things are going.

I agree with you on that One Putt. But for players like myself with relatively flat swings, a 46 inch driver makes it much easier to put a good swing on the ball. I prefer to hit the ball further away from my body than the average golfer, and using a shorter shaft had me slightly hunched over when trying to extend my arms. In the end I am trying to offset terrible fundamentals with equipment specifications that tailor to my weaknesses. This is likely the wrong thing to do but, once I am finally out of university, I'll work on becoming a more fundamental golfer by getting some lessons and buying some better equipment.

Mr.Putz, Nothing wrong with your plan at all. The only reason I mentioned what I posted was so the taller gentleman wouldn't "think" he needs a longer driver just because of his taller than average height. The main thing here is to find a length that allows you to hit the ball solid and consistant. Last week I was hitting 2 drivers, both HiBore XL's, one was 45" and the other was 46-1/4". This is the way they came, I haven't played with either of them, The 46-1/4" one was purchases as "Pre-owned", but looking at the club I'd have to say it has never been hit. Not a mark of any kind on the head. Only thing I notices was a new Lambkin grip and the length. I need to pull the grip and check if a shaft extension has been added. What was interesting was when my partner and I hit both driver, we got the same swing speed and distance with each of them. The swing weight of the 45" one is D4, while it's D6.5 on the 46-1/4" one. Pretty close considering one's 1-1/4 " longer. It should be a lot more than that.
In the end the only thing that really matter is you find what works for you and stick with it.

OK so I just picked up my new driver and I like it so far. The 85 gram X-Stiff shaft was noticeably heavier and very very form. I was able to better control my drives and was hitting a lot of draw shots. My launch angle went from 23 degrees to 14-15 degrees and I hit a few drives in upwards of 280 on the launch monitor. This is after no having swung a club on over 2 months

Not sure if the length was a factor or not, but my swing speed dropped from 110+ to around 96-97 today. I'm also using a shaft that is 20 grams heavier, but it seems pretty drastic that I'd lose 14 mph over that.

Ball speed averaged about 126 mph (14.5 launch angle), but some shots still seemed to be balooning on me. The thing is that it felt, sounded, and looked noticeably better today than ever before. I don't know if I am getting too much backspin, but wasn't getting much roll on the monitor. About 240 yards of carry and 15 yards of roll

I'm anxious to get out and hit a few outdoors in the spring, as I don't normally consider the monitors at Golf Town all that reliable

What was the back spin rate on the monitor? You want it under 3000, and as close to 2000 as you can get it. I have measured my driver speed with shafts of 54 grams, 65 grams, and 77 grams, and I get the same speed with all three. It's my opinion I do this because I don't try to "MUSCLE" the club, but just let the club do the work. If you "muscle" your driver, that would explain why you lost speed with the heavier shaft. The more weight, the harder it is to "muscle" the club. I hope this makes sense.

Well I finally got my my new driver and I actually wound up getting a 46 inch shaft in my Callaway X460 and was hitting it great n the launch monitor. I can't take it to the course right now due to the snow, but I really think it is going to improve my game.

What were the numbers on the launch monitor with your new driver? The numbers are just as important as how you hit the club. At least they are if you're looking for the best total performance package. Glad to read you like it so far. Good luck out on the course, And I know what you mean about not getting out to play. We have 3 inches of new snow and it's 6* outside.